Wild Horses

Lovely day at the park

Lira sat in the shop, knitting, hoping no more customers came in. She was finished with customer interactions for the day after that weird goth clown guy came in for his hat. Plus, she was worn out already from not getting a good night's rest. And ever since she got all that money from Bucciarati, her dedication to the business had started to wane. Lovecat was nestled in a bin of fabric scraps, and Lira's knitting needles quietly clicked as she transferred the loops of the blue cashmere yarn. She had never been able to afford such a luxurious material before, and Lira loved feeling the results coming together as she knit it into a sweater.

The door bells jingled, momentarily crushing Lira's serenity as she expected a customer to start asking dumb questions about how to make their clothes impossibly bigger or something. But her heart lept out of her chest when she looked up and saw Bucciarati. She set her project down. "Hey there, stranger," she tried to flirt.

"You sew, and you knit? You're very talented, cara," Bucciarati effortlessly purred in his velvet voice. Ah, she missed hearing that.

"Most people can't tell the difference," she laughed.

"Am I most people?" he said teasingly. Lira smiled and shrugged playfully.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked in a mock-formal tone.

Bucciarati let out a small chuckle. "I'm not here to employ you, cara. I was in the area for some business and thought I'd stop by. I was hoping you'd be free to spend the rest of the afternoon with me? Maybe get out of this shop for a while?"

"Hell yes," she said, smiling hugely but still trying to conceal how excited she actually was. She wondered if he was actually around for business, or if he just wanted to stop by. Ug, get over yourself, Lira, she thought to herself.

She closed the shop and yelled bye to her mother before they set out. As they walked, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of business Bucciarati might have around her house. The area was run-down, buildings were empty - some condemned and some for sale. There were drugs in the area, which made things worse.

"You look pensive," Bucciarati interrupted her thoughts with a smile.

"I was just wondering," she paused. She couldn't lie to the elegant mafioso. "... what kind of business you would have in my neighborhood." Ah, here it goes; he would either shut her down the way she had seen him with Narancia so many times, or...

"I was visiting a person in prison. Actually, I escorted them out," he answered with a kind smile. He would leave it at that for now. There was no point delving into conversation about someone who might not pass Polpo's initiation test.

They stopped inside a little bodega. Bucciarati bought two mineral waters and handed Lira one. "Anywhere you'd like to go?" he asked.

"There's a park down there that I like to sit at when I have free time," Lira said. "Usually to watch the sunset, because I'm pretty much working all day until then."

Bucciarati was pleased with such uncomplicated plans. They walked to the park, Lira leading them to sit underneath an oak tree she liked. She laid on her back in the grass, holding her mineral water upright. Bucciarati sat with his legs outstretched and crossed as he leaned back on his hands. They sat in silence like that for several minutes, just enjoying the weather and the sea breeze.

"So, Lira," Bucciarati began, "is you father around?" He hoped he wasn't dropping a bomb on their pleasant time, but he had been wondering after last night.

"I don't know, I never met him," she said cooly.

"Oh. I was just wondering, after meeting your mother last night."